Texas Corn Growers Stress Water Grows Jobs

Cindy Zimmerman

No doubt that water use issues are among the biggest challenges facing agricultural producers nationwide, but particularly in states where water is at a premium. That’s why corn growers are getting more pro-active in states like Texas.

texas cornThe Texas Corn Producers rolled out a new public information campaign just this week, with the message that water conservation goals can be achieved without severe restrictions on irrigation that would damage the economy of Texas High Plains.

“Agriculture brings billions of dollars into the economy of the Panhandle and South Plains every year and is the main driver of economic growth in the region,” said David Gibson, Executive Director of the Texas Corn Producers Board. “Through research and development of new technology, we are finding ways to grow more crops with less water. This means we can conserve water for future generations without sacrificing economic growth today.”

The campaign includes televised public service announcements, a 10 minute video and a new website, www.WaterGrowsJobs.org, with the slogan “Water grows our economy; let’s make it last.”

Watch the video here:

Corn, Video

New Holland Construction Intros New Super Boom Skid Steers

Chuck Zimmerman

New Holland Construction Super Boom Skid SteerThe New Holland Construction new Super Boom skid steer loaders drew a lot of attention at the National Farm Machinery Show today. These 200 Series machines have been years in the making. I spoke with Dave December, Marketing Manager, New Holland Construction and Jorge De Hoyos, Global Product Marketing Manager to learn all about these new products. They sell skid steer loaders throughout their dealer network that includes ag equipment dealers.

With the new 200 Series, New Holland maintains the best-in-class forward dump height and reach with the Super Boom® loader vertical lift design – and introduces breakthrough productivity improvements. The new skid steers culminate five years of customer research, design and engineering improvements.

“New Holland skid steers are built around our customers’ needs. Our engineers used input from hundreds of customers to design the new 200 Series line-up,” said Dave December, marketing manager at New Holland Construction. “The New Holland skid steer loaders have been engineered from the ground up. No matter what your line of work, agriculture, landscaping or construction, you’ll work faster, smarter and more profitably with our new skid steers.”

You can listen to my interview with David and Jorge here: Skid Steer Introduction Interview

There are a number of other photos of the new skid steers in my photo album: 2011 National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album

Super Boom Road ShowIn our interview you can hear all about the New Holland Construction Super Boom Road Show which is an open house customer event held at New Holland dealerships across North America. The event includes a skid steer challenge featuring New Holland’s new 200 Series skid steer loaders.

The Super Boom Road Show will take place at 35 New Holland dealerships across the United States and Canada. Highlighting each event is a skid steer challenge where equipment operators compete for the best time on a special course. Prizes and cash are awarded to the top finishers. In addition, the operator who wins each local competition will be flown to Louisville, Ky., to compete in a final competition during GIE+EXPO 2011 (Oct. 27-29) to determine the North American champion. The grand prize winner will receive a new, fully-loaded New Holland 200 Series skid steer loader – valued at $35,000 – for their sponsoring company, plus $5,000 and New Holland gear for the operator.

AgWired coverage at the National Farm Machinery Show is sponsored by:
New Holland

Agribusiness, Audio, Equipment, National Farm Machinery Show, New Holland, Video

Another Record Breaking Harvest for All

Cindy Zimmerman

Farm Bureau families helped to feed even more hungry Americans in 2010.

American Farm Bureau reports that farm and ranch families of the organization raised more than $273,000 last year and donated more than 18 million pounds of food to hungry Americans as part of Farm Bureau’s “Harvest for All” program through Feeding America. That is the combined equivalent of more than 16 million meals!

The money raised, food donated and meal equivalents in 2010 all shattered program records. The Harvest for All Program was established in 2003.

In fact, the 18 million pounds of food donated by Farm Bureau families in 2010 was nearly three times as great as the 6.7 million pounds donated in 2008, the previous record. The $273,000 in funds donated in 2010 surpassed the 2009 level of $213,000, which was also a record. And the number of meal equivalents served at 16 million exceeded the previous high of 6.4 million, also set in 2008, by nearly 10 million meal equivalents.

Read more here.

AFBF

National Farm Machinery Show Underway

Chuck Zimmerman

We’ve got a good crowd out early at the National Farm Machinery Show. I did a walk around to take random photos while we were getting internet access fixed in the media room so there are a lot of new ones in there.

2011 National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album

My next step is to begin conducting interviews with sponsors and others. Time to hit the floor!

AgWired coverage at the National Farm Machinery Show is sponsored by:
New Holland

National Farm Machinery Show

iPhone and Android Lead Smartphone Pack

Chuck Zimmerman

When it comes to smartphone platforms our audience is using a mix with iPhone/Android/Blackberry on top. According to our poll 32% say they use iPhone, 32% are using Android, 28 % are using Blackberry and way back we have 5% saying Other and only 3% saying Windows. Interesting and I think we’ll have to ask this question again later this year since there are going to be a lot of changes in mobile phone carrier systems and phones. So, does this surprise you? About what you expected?

Our next ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “What biofuel feedstock do you think has best future?” Let us know what you think and thank you for participating.

ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.

ZimmPoll

AHA Heart-Check Logo on Beef

Melissa Sandfort

Thanks in part to a partnership with the Beef Checkoff Program, the American Heart Association has listed three beef cuts as part of its Food Certification Program. This program places the association’s heart-check mark on food packages to helps healthy consumers over age 2 identify foods that meet criteria for saturated fat and cholesterol.

The three beef cuts that met the American Heart Association’s criteria for extra lean and now are certified to display the heart-check mark include:

— Boneless Top Sirloin Petite Roast (select grade)
— Top Sirloin Filet (select grade)
— Top Sirloin Kabob (select grade)

The American Heart Association’s heart-check mark is the one of the most trusted icons on food packaging today – and it continues to resonate with health-conscious shoppers, even in a challenging economy. In fact, more than 83 percent of consumers have an aided awareness of the heart-check mark, and nearly 75 percent of primary grocery shoppers say the heart-check mark improves the likelihood that they’ll buy a product.

This certification allows retailers to display the heart-check mark on fresh case beef packages, promoting the health benefits of a serving of these particular beef cuts to their customers.

To learn more about receiving the American Heart Association’s certification, please visit www.BeefRetail.org.

Beef

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Syngenta announced it has received full deregulation for its corn amylase trait from the USDA. Syngenta will sell corn seed with the amylase trait as Enogen corn seed.
  • John Deere is hosting Driver Green events at dealerships across the country, from February through July, for consumers to see and test drive the latest utility tractors and other equipment available from John Deere.
  • The next president of the National Chicken Council will be Mike Brown, currently senior vice president for legislative affairs of the American Meat Institute.
  • Keith Baioni, business manager of crop protection products for Jimmy Sanders, Cleveland, Miss., and Steve Muhlenbruch, agronomist for Farmer’s Cooperative Company, Dows, Iowa, were selected as Resistance Fighters of the Year for their leadership and advocacy efforts to manage glyphosate-resistant weeds in 2010.
    Zimfo Bytes

    World Ag Investment Conference Adds Passport Capital Speaker

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Here’s a last announcement about the May 9-10, World Agriculture Investment Conference. Leading investment groups from across the globe will be at the conference to discuss the opportunities and risks in agricultural markets.

    The meeting’s foremost speaker panel – addressing a delegation of institutional and private investors – has recently been strengthened by leading investment manager Ejnar Knudsen of Passport Capital.

    Mr. Knudsen has a wealth of experience in the field of agriculture investment and is currently responsible for Passport Capital’s investment management and research process for food, agriculture and commodity investments.

    Among the timely discussion in Chicago, Mr. Knudsen will share his thoughts on agricultural markets and where to hedge your bets, offering truly unique insight into a complex and often misunderstood market.

    What’s more, in build-up to this meeting you can now get free access a keynote presentation from our recent London event – BlackRock’s Richard Davis looks at equities versus commodities and key investment themes in the Agriculture space – please click here for the presentation.

    The World Agriculture Investment Conference USA is a unique forum designed specifically to network with key investors, hedge funds and Ag managers, and to effortlessly discover how best to develop the ideal Ag portfolio.

    Discounted tickets for Chicago are available until February 25th

    For more information please visit: http://www.aginvestconference.com/usa/

    For additional information, registration assistance or questions, please contact George Kiley, Investment Director – World Agriculture Investment Series by email on gkiley@aginvestconference.com, or call on +44(0)207 3757 54

    You can find the agenda here.

    International

    Nufarm Forms Strategic Alliance in Mexico

    Cindy Zimmerman

    NufarmNufarm Americas is forming a strategic alliance in Mexico with Sumitomo Chemical Company’s affiliate Valent de Mexico (VdM) to distribute crop protection products.

    According to Nufarm officials, the company will provide selected products from its line of herbicides, insecticides and fungicides to VdM, which will offer those products through its well-established existing distribution channel.

    “Nufarm and SCC are working together in many regions of the world to explore alliances that can capitalize on each of our strengths and we are pleased to find this opportunity in Mexico,” says Robert Renes, Nufarm vice president for Latin America North. “The combination of our broad product line and VdM’s distribution channel relationships will benefit both companies and our customers.”

    Renes adds that VdM and Nufarm offerings are complementary; in Mexico, VdM has focused on specialty crops and branded products, while Nufarm is one of the world’s largest suppliers of herbicides for broad-acre crops as well as a wide array of fungicides and insecticides.

    VdM will have exclusive rights to sell certain Nufarm products to its distributors under private branded labels. Nufarm will continue its model of selling product to industrial customers. The final agreement is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter.

    International, Nufarm

    National Farm Machinery Show Preview

    Chuck Zimmerman

    National Farm Machinery ShowSomebody ordered some beautiful weather for this year’s National Farm Machinery Show. Sunshine and “warm” is the way I like it. I got on site early and got in some exercise just wandering around and seeing the show in set up mode.

    I checked in at the Kentucky Exposition Center and met Corinne Fetter, Director of Expositions, Kentucky State Fair Board. She says the good weather should “bring people out of the woodwork.” The exhibit space is sold out so there’s 1.2 million square feet to walk through. She says the “Superbowl of Tractor Pulls” will have five sessions over the next several days and there are only a limited number of tickets left.

    You can listen to my interview with Corinne here: Interview with Corinne Fetter

    I’ve got a photo album started which will be added to periodically over the next several days: 2011 National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album

    AgWired coverage at the National Farm Machinery Show is sponsored by:
    New Holland

    Audio, Farm Shows, National Farm Machinery Show